Another pleasant morning “observing” life along the Nile from the observation deck. One of the first things we see this morning is a young boy riding a donkey. He is leading a reluctant Friesian cow down the quarry path that we were walking on yesterday. There is a yearling calf bringing up the rear. We sail past the cow and calf a short time later grazing in a small patch of reeds. The boy and the donkey are nowhere to be seen. We also float by stone structures along the riverbank that are part of the ancient quarry that were off limits to us on our tour yesterday.

    We sail for an hour more or less until we reach the village where the craftsman we are visiting lives. Once the Aida is tethered, we leave the ship, pair up and crawl into tuk-tuks’ which will be our transportation to the local crate builder. Our driver pulls the heavy blanket aside that serves as the door and Paul and I crawl into the small vehicle and sit down. Paul holds the curtain back so I can take photos as we bounce down the sandy roads.  

    The caravan of tuk-tuks’ stop along the side of an unpaved road and Hussein takes us down a path that leads to the craftsman’s work shop. A wizened man is waiting for us, and he greets Hussein and our group with a wave and smile. There are handmade benches arranged in a half-circle around the man’s working area. The “workshop” consists of a portion of a tree trunk that serves as the man’s workbench and his chair is the ground. And to think I complain that my chair I sit in for computer work is not comfortable! There are piles of finished crates lined up behind the workman which he sells to his customers who use them for shipping farm produce. I wish I could remember what our host is paid for each crate. I want to say that it is twenty-five cents in our money but don’t hold me to that.

    The craftsman begins building a crate and it is fascinating to watch how quickly he measures the palm wood, cuts, and slices it, punches holes part of the way through the thin wood and more. The craftsman has two different knives he uses.  One knife looks like a cleaver and the other large knife has a wicked curved blade. The fellow often uses his feet to hold the crate steady and I admit I check out his feet and hands to see if all his fingers and toes are accounted for.

A slideshow of the craftsman at work.

    Once he has the framework of the crate completed, he points to the tall guy in our group to come help him finish the box, nope it is not Paul. The two work together building the box. The teacher corrects a couple of minor mistakes his pupil made which is impressive considering our friend is a novice. When the box is finished our host hands his apprentice one of the curved-bladed knives. The two men hold the knives over the completed project, blades touching in a symbolic gesture that the project is finished. A woman is selected this time to help the man build another crate. Again, the man has a good student and only has to remedy a couple of mistakes.

    The craftsman then constructs a small box which he finishes in short order. When he completes the box, our host gathers up some items that are lying to one side. The craftsman hands each of us an Ankh also known as the key of life that he has fashioned from the same palm wood he uses to make his crates. The key of life symbolizes both mortal life and the afterlife. The Egyptian gods depicted in tomb paintings and carvings often carry the Ankh. Two women ask Hussein if they can buy the small box that the craftsman made. Hussein relates the question to our host who ends up giving each woman a box since he has extra boxes stacked inside a crate. This gift from the craftsman is the only souvenir that Paul and I brought home.

    Hussein talks about our host off and on while we are watching him work. The craftsman has two men that help him in his business. Our host also has two wives, one in Cairo and one in this village. Hussein says that the fellow told him he had to marry a local village woman in order to be accepted here, but Hussein is laughing when he relates this info to us. Hussein also tells us how many crates the man can make in a day, who sells him the palm fronds, and what they cost, etc. but unfortunately, I cannot remember the details.

    We leave our host after thanking him for giving us a glimpse into his life as a crate maker and for the gifts he gave us. We go back to the tuk-tuk’s which take us back to the Aida. Jennifer and Hussein have shared a tuk-tuk on this foray since the woman who fainted yesterday decided not to join us this morning. Hussein made a stop at a grocery store as he needed coffee, so lucky Jennifer got to see the village grocery store. Hussein bought Jennifer some chocolate covered Oreos, and she is kind enough to share a package with us. Yes, you have read this before because I mistakenly thought this happened two days ago. I should have read my journal as I had made a note of their side trip but now it is in the correct order.

    Today we eat lunch inside due to the heat and wind. Guess who we happen to eat our meal with? Yep, the women from Minnesota. Oh okay, we see that there is room at their table and ask if we can sit with them. I may not be eating much but I wouldn’t have the opportunity even if I was because our friend has me laughing all through our lunch.  

    We arrive at Kom Ombo mid-afternoon where the temple we are visiting is located. When we leave the ship, it is only a short walk to the temple. It is hot this afternoon, 90ish, and Paul wonders if I should go on this tour, since I do not handle heat very well. I decide to go as I figure I can find a place out of the sun to sit, if I begin to get too hot.

   Hussein explains that Kom Ombo is a twin temple meaning one side is dedicated to Horus, the Falcon God who is the ruler of all Gods. The other side is dedicated to Sobek the Crocodile God who is god of crocodiles, strength and power. This temple is unique as everything is doubled and symmetrical along the main axis: twin entrances, twin courts, and twin colonnades. Yea, I copied this sentence out of our OAT book, no way I would remember that.

    There are a lot of tourists here and everyone appears to be suffering from the heat. Hussein does his best to keep us out of the sun but that is not an easy task. Paul even admits he is looking for shade and Paul generally is not bothered by heat. We wander after Hussein looking at the temple depictions of the Crocodile God more than those of Horus since we have seen Horus in all the temples.

Slide show of the temple and carvings. Notice the key of life the seated crocodile god is holding. The green dot on the pharaohs chin is Hussein’s light he used to point things out to us.

    There are archeologists working right by the temple and it is astonishing to look at all the pottery shards that are laid out on the ground. I wonder if they intend to try and put those pots back together as the pieces seem to be grouped in small piles. What patience that would take but how rewarding when you accomplished the task. I always thought it would be fun to go on an archeology dig but I wouldn’t last an hour in this heat.

    There is a Crocodile Museum here, that as you can guess, is a museum that contains Nile crocodiles. The mummified crocodiles on display are all sizes from very large crocs that you would not want to encounter in life, to a crocodile that is still in the egg.  The museum is kept relatively dark to preserve the mummified crocodiles plus it is air conditioned. Boy does that cool air feel good.   

   This evening Hussein discusses modern Egypt using some film clips to highlight some of the topics he is covering. The main thing I recall Hussein discussing is the tough times Egypt has been through prior to the 2011 uprising and after that coup. Terrorism, attacks on tourists, government crackdowns before the coup and after the coup against protesters, resulting in deaths and injuries of citizens. The attacks on tourists through the years severely impacted tourism in Egypt which obviously impacted the economy. Hussein tells us that tourism had begun to recover when Covid shut down the world. Inflation is another huge problem in Egypt and the people are struggling. The government/ army is competing with private business in all aspects like farming, operating ferries, even gas stations and private businesses are having a tough time competing with the government run operations. Hussein is very candid when he discusses the country and government and seems to not be concerned at all about levying criticism along with the positive aspects.

    When Hussein finishes his presentation, we go to the dining area where we sit with our friends from Minnesota and the woman who is traveling solo. Tonight, our humorous friend relates some of the pranks she played on her students. I will not relate the stories as I do not have permission to, but trust me, if you were a student of this woman, I doubt you would ever forget her! Our comedian also tells jokes and after one of the jokes, her traveling companion remarks with some surprise that she has not heard that joke before. That was funny in itself.  Our day ends with laughter again which is always good.

  Touring a man’s barn and livestock in a village, shopping for vegetables, taking a short walk on an island.  Our last night on the Aida.

    It looks like I am in a routine on the Aida, as this morning I arise at 6 a.m. and am sipping tea on the observation deck by seven. It is cooler this morning but not enough to keep us from eating on the deck. It is so peaceful out here and plenty of interesting things to look at. I love this!

Slide show of a few things we saw as we cruised this morning.

    

    I am going to relate a story here that may or may not have taken place this morning, but I have a photo that I believe is of the man that was part of this tale. Jennifer and I are walking laps again when the tugboat and our ship crew begin maneuvering our ship towards the shore.  Once the Aida is close to the riverbank, the crew slides the narrow gangplank over to the shore. A man walks across the makeshift bridge onto land and the crew pulls the gangplank back onto the boat.  Who is that guy and why was he on the ship?

    Jennifer and I look up at Paul who is standing on the sundeck above us. We ask him if he knows what is going on. He laughs and says he watched the whole episode unfold below him. Paul said there were two men in a rowboat that came alongside the Aida and grabbed onto our river yacht letting the ship pull them up the river. Paul said they must have grown tired of using their hands to hang onto the boat as one man took off his turban and tied it to something on the Aida and fastened the other end of the turban to the rowboat.  Now they have themselves a makeshift tow rope although that must be some very strong material to withstand the pull of a rowboat and two passengers. Paul estimated that our ship towed them for about a half-mile when one of the men hoisted himself onto the narrow ledge that sits just under the windows of the ship cabins. According to Paul, the fellow carefully shuffled along the ledge until he reaches the bow of the Aida. Paul said that in the meantime, the man in the rowboat untied the end of the turban fastened to their boat and rowed away from the Aida. The man that climbed onto our ship was not on board for long as the crew quickly finds a place to deposit the stowaway on shore. It was not until this part of the story took place that those of us on the observation deck were aware that anything out of the ordinary was taking place. The finale of the story was when one of the crewmen threw the abandoned turban into the Nile. Oh yes, Paul is lamenting that he took no photos of this unusual activity. He said he was so captivated by what was unfolding before his eyes that it never crossed his mind to take pictures!

    Hussein joins us on the observation deck and tells us that the man was calling friends on his cell phone when he safely made it to the bow, to see if anyone could come and pick him up. According to Hussein the man’s destination was too far for him to walk. He must not have found anyone willing to rescue him while aboard the Aida, as he was on his phone as soon as he sat foot on land. What Hussein did not explain or I missed that part of the story was why the man climbed onto our ship. You would have to surmise that the stowaway had hoped he would be allowed to stay on the Aida until he reached his destination because if he only wanted to get ashore the rowboat could have easily taken him there. You can see why Hussein and the crew refused to let the fellow stay on board because if you do it for one person how do you stop other river hitchhikers from boarding in the future with expectations to be delivered to their destination.

    We have a wonderful view of the farming village as we approach the docking area. The green, symmetrical plots where a few head of cattle stand along the edges of the fields is beautiful. There are field workers carrying bundles of freshly harvested grass out of the fields with the village in the background. The man who will be educating us about farming and life in the village is waiting for us on the river’s edge as we dock.

    Hussein introduces us to our guide, whose name is Sayed, and informs us that he is the head of the farming village. Our first lesson is only a few yards away from the boat in a small field of barley. As our group walks to the barley field, we pass by a plot that appears to be alfalfa, but if it is, it puts the alfalfa we raise at home to shame. The leaves on these lush plants are huge compared to our alfalfa.

  Sayed talks about the barley, which they cut before it heads out, which is used for livestock feed. He asks if anyone would like to try to harvest the lush grass using a hand-scythe. After a young boy demonstrates the technique of cutting the barley, many in our group try our hand at harvesting the forage. Hussein warns all of us to be very careful and keep our fingers out of the blades path. Good advice as the scythe blade is very sharp.

   We work in pairs under the watchful eye of our youthful teacher while Sayed is busy answering questions from members of our group. Oh yes, Sayed speaks fluent English. When it is my turn to cut the barley, I get on my knees and swing the scythe in an arc as close to the ground as possible, just like the young fellow demonstrated. I bunch the cut grass together and pile it off to one side. I cut one more swath than stand up and pass the blade to the next volunteer. The young fellow flashes a big grin at me and gives me a thumbs up. It occurs to me this could be a likened to the Tom Sawyer story when he gets his friends to whitewash the fence!

   When everyone has had a turn at harvesting the barley grass, Sayed proceeds to demonstrate the art of scything barley. He gets on his knees and makes long, sweeping cuts that lays down a large area of the grass. I cannot imagine working like this for long but a seasoned worker like Sayed, could cut a lot of grass in a short amount of time.  

    Before we walk to the village, Hussein tells us to give the pens, crayons, papers, etc. we brought for the children to Sayed who will distribute them later. Since several children have begun to shadow us, Sayed decides to line them up and let members of our group just pass their gifts directly to them. Paul and I did not bring enough ink pens and paper pads to give to each of the kids that are in the line up, so we do not participate in the handout. Jennifer and a couple of other members of our group are in the same spot as we are. Those of us who didn’t have enough gifts for all the assembled children had understood that the items would be collected and given to the school.

    There are a couple of kids who hide what they have been given and then they go to the back of the line where they receive even more loot. Rascals. The saddest thing is when someone from the village carries a young boy up to the group whose father has recently died. The gifts have already been distributed by then, but I hand this little guy a pen and a pad of paper.  I believe everyone else finds something to gift to the grieving child.

   Not long after we have entered the village, we are ushered into a small room where two women are preparing to bake bread. Sayed talks about the bread and then turns it over to the two women who demonstrate by dusting the bread with flour and then slapping it hard against the thin plate of steel that is attached to a long handle. One of the women slides the bread “shovel” into the oven and deposits the bread onto the oven rack.  Sayed asks for volunteers to give this a try, and three or four people participate in this way of baking bread. As we are leaving the bakery, Sayed’s son runs up and proudly shows his dad a picture he has drawn with the items that were passed out to them. Everyone admires the boy’s work; it really is quite good. It is determined that the colored pencils used for this artwork was provided by the couple from Connecticut, (I think), and the boy agrees to let them keep the picture.   

    We follow Sayed and Hussein through the village and into a banana grove. We learn a lot about bananas from this young farmer, not that I knew anything about them to begin with. Sayed and his brother bring a large sprout that was taken from a mother tree for our group to plant. Three men, including Paul, dig a hole using a root hoe and then three women, including me, plant the banana tree to be.

   It is very warm by now and as Sayed is answering our questions, one member of our group passes out. Paul said he saw the woman drop her water bottle, reach over to pick it up, and then just fall to the ground. Hussein is at the woman’s side immediately as are Sayed and his brother. Our friend comes to quickly and the men gently lift her to a sitting position. The woman has bloodied her nose and seems a bit dazed but is coherent. Hussein assures us that she will be fine and says that she is dehydrated. Once everyone is assured that she is fine, Hussein sends us with Sayed who leads us back to the village and to his house. Sayed’s brother stays with Hussein to attend to our friend.

Slide show of scenes in the village, the photo with the round white objects are loaves of bread sat outside to make the bread rise.

    As we gather in front of Sayed’s house, we are all amazed when we see the woman walking up to the house, with the aid of Hussein and Sayed’s brother. Hussein takes us into Sayed’s house and has us take seats in a narrow room, then they bring the woman in to join us. Hussein brings a bottle of water that he has added salt and sugar to and directs the woman to sip on the home-made electrolyte solution. This is one tough, amazing woman who could have gone back to the boat but was determined to stay and experience the rest of our time in the village.

  Once we have been served drinks, tea or sprite, Sayed picks up a laminated map, of the United States. He asks that each of us point out the state we are from and tell everyone what we do for a living. Sayed demonstrates his request by pointing to Colorado and stating that he lives in Colorado for six months where he farms. He then points to Texas and says that he lives in Texas for six months and is a fisherman. This of course, makes us all laugh. The man’s English is amazing, and he has shown us throughout this tour that he has a great sense of humor. Once everyone has identified their home and occupation, Sayed introduces his wife and sister. We are encouraged to ask questions which many do, some for Sayed, others for his wife and sister who is soon to be married. 

    After the meet and greet we are ushered into another room where the women have laid out a feast for us. There is chicken, bread, rice, and other side dishes. Someone asks Hussein if the family eats like this every day, and he replies in the negative. Hussein tells us that a meal like this would be eaten once a week and that the people only have meat with their meals two or three times a week if I recall correctly.

   After we have finished eating, we are taken back to the discussion room where Sayed again takes our questions. I ask him how they control pests in the alfalfa. He says they have cattle egrets that keep the bugs under control. I shake my head in disbelief and tell him that we have insects that can quickly damage the alfalfa if you do not catch a bug infestation quickly. He assures me that the egrets take care of the bugs in their crops, and this is not a problem. Amazing.  Later, when thinking about this, it dawns on me that the birds have a very small corridor in this country to find food. The farmed area of Egypt only occurs along the Nile which does not extend far from the water. Therefore, the birds are highly concentrated, unlike in our country, and have a limited area to find food. This is purely a hypothesis on my part.

   It is time to return to the Aida and we thank Sayed and his family for the meal and the interesting tour. After we leave someone asks Hussein if Sayed is highly educated. Hussein shakes his head and says that he is not, Sayed reads all the time and has gained his knowledge on his own. Imagine that. Paul and I agree that so far this has been the highlight of our visits in Egypt and we both were impressed and amazed by Sayed intelligence, ability and wit.

    Our next stop is at an ancient stone quarry. We stroll along a trail and Hussein stops here and there to talk about the quarry. One stop is at a small tomb that our guide says that only a person of some importance would have warranted, but it is nothing compared to a King’s tombs. He points out where workers chiseled out big blocks of building stone. Hussein shows us the path that was used to drag the rock to the Nile. The workers bored out holes in the rock cliffs that line the trail. Ropes were placed through the holes which helped the laborers control the multi- ton blocks as they pulled them down the slope to the waiting barge.

    We return to the Aida but the crew does not pull up the anchor as this is where we will be spending the night. Hussein informs us that there will be a film shown in the lounge at five o’clock. The film is about a man, British I believe, that walked the full length of the Nile. When the film is over it is time for dinner. Paul, Jennifer, and I sit at the table with the two women from Minnesota. They are delightful people and one of the women is a card. She enjoys telling jokes and keeps us laughing throughout the meal. I am as amused with her body language and how she cannot keep from laughing before she gets to the punch line, as I am with her jokes! Writing this is making me grin just thinking about her! A good way to end a very good day.

    Tomorrow, we visit a crate maker and the temple of the crocodile God, Sobek. Nancy

QUIET MORNING ON THE NILE, CARRIAGE RIDE TO TEMPLE OF HORUS, UNFURLING THE SAILS, DINING AND DANCING ON SHORE THIS EVENING, part 7

    Our first night on the Aida allowed for a decent night’s sleep for me, (finally). It was so quiet and very dark which is what Paul, and I are accustomed to. There is no heating on this ship, but our room was very comfortable temperature wise. On our pre-trip instructions we had been warned that we should bring flannel pajamas, gloves, long underwear, and a warm coat, for our time on the ship, as the nights in Egypt this time of year can be quite chilly. Paul and I ignored the flannel pj’s and long underwear but did bring gloves and a fleece to go under our jackets. Unless things change drastically, we are not going to need those articles of clothing.

   I leave our cabin at seven, (Paul is still sleeping), and go to the dining room to make myself a cup of chamomile tea. I don’t know when the crew untied our river yacht, but we are already sailing down the Nile. I go out to the observation deck where the only other person on the deck is a crew member busily cleaning the floor. I will say that this ship is spotless. It seems someone is always sweeping or wiping surfaces down.

    As I sit and sip my cup of tea, I enjoy the scenes along the Nile as we float along. The fishermen are already out, and I begin taking photos of one fisherman occupying a colorful green and red rowboat. The turbaned fellow is moving right along when he suddenly stops paddling. I assume he is going to pull up his fishing net or wire fish traps as there is no fishing gear in his boat. However, the boatsman picks up a drinking glass which he dips into the Nile, filling it with water. As I continue to snap photos, I watch in horrid fascination as the man thirstily gulps the water down. Well, the fellow must have an incredible immune system to be able to drink directly out of the Nile. The photos are a slideshow, but you must click the arrows, it doesn’t go on its own.

    I also observe a long barge moored along the bank of the Nile. There are men hauling what looks like dried sugar cane onto it. Most men are carrying large sheaves of the yellow stalks on their backs, while another fellow is using a wheelbarrow or cart of some kind.  There are two camels standing alongside the barge. One of the camels has a man astride him. I cannot tell if the camels are being used to pull or haul the dried cane to the barge. Photo slideshow.

    Paul shows up and we go into to the dining room to see what is on the breakfast buffet menu. There is all kinds of fruit, breads, oatmeal and cold cereal, beef bacon, (no pork in Egypt), various juices, tea, and coffee. The chef has a cook station set up on the observation deck where you can order an omelet or eggs fixed any other way you can think of.  Paul and I pass on the eggs. It is warm enough that Paul and I eat breakfast on the observation deck, as do some of the other members of our group. Pretty cool to be eating breakfast as we float down the Nile.

    After breakfast, Jennifer and I get some exercise by doing laps on the observation deck and walking up the stairs to the sundeck. Most of the group has assembled on the observation deck by now. I think everyone is enjoying watching life along the Nile. People are walking or riding donkeys along the riverbank, we pass by colorful villages and children wave as we pass by.  Sailing down the Nile is everything and more that I imagined. Another slideshow.

    Around ten a.m. our ship docks at the city of Edfu and we take off our boat shoes and put on our walking shoes. I think I forgot to mention that we were asked not to wear our excursion shoes on the boat in order not to track sand and grit all over the Aida. When we disembark, Hussein is telling us about taking horse and buggies to the temple which is on the other side of Edfu. There are probably a dozen horse and carriage on the street waiting for customers. There is an altercation between some of the horse and carriage owners and they begin yelling at each other.  Hussein laughs and tells us that this is just the way these guys talk. Might be, but I look up to see a man, (who is standing behind one of the men who is arguing), wrap his arms around the guy. This peacekeeper pins the angry man’s arms to his side while at the same time keeping him from advancing towards the guy he is at odds with. A man in uniform appears and talks to the pair which seems to calm them down. Once he gets this spat under control, the policeman begins directing the horse and buggies into a line along the side of the street. I am guessing the altercation came about because everyone was jockeying to get close to the stairs that we must climb to get up to the street. They probably assume if they are closest to the stairs, they will be guaranteed customers. I admit I paid more attention to the drama than I did to Hussein.

    Hussein calls out “follow me” and our group ascends the stairs towards the waiting carriages. The horses are not in good shape, their ribs and backbones are prominent. I cannot tell if the horses are very old, which could be part of the reason for their condition or if they are not being fed well.  Hussein takes two people from our group at a time and walks down the line of buggies carefully studying each one. I am not sure what he is assessing, the drivers, horses, carriages, or all three. When Hussein finds what he is looking for he stops and has the people following him find the number that is painted on the carriage. Hussein imparts to the people that it is important to remember the number because you will ride in the same carriage on the return trip to the ship. He also says to not tip the driver until you are delivered back to the ship. Hussein instructs us to give the driver fifty Egyptian pounds and no more. By the way, OAT does all the tipping for things like this, so Hussein handed fifty pounds to one of the riders in each carriage. We love this about OAT as it is one less thing to worry about.

    Before we leave, every driver asks for their customers phone, and they proceed to take photos of you seated in the carriage. We are looking directly into the sun so our photo results in two people with their eyes squinted to slits.  Our driver is very quiet and does not talk to us on the jaunt to the temple which is fine. What we like best about him is that he does not use a whip on his horse as many other drivers do to make the horses gallop.  I hope the poor things have good shoes to help cushion the impact on their joints from the solid surface of the road.

   We clip-clop through the town of Edfu which is a little rundown. The people are going about their business and do not take much interest in us. We have arrived on the other side of the small town when I see a young boy dash out into the street ahead of us. I exclaim to Paul that the youngster is trying to race the horse and carriage that is ahead of us. Not quite, the rascal runs up behind the buggy, jumps onto the back of it, and hangs on. The driver lashes his horse into a gallop, so we lose sight of them and their stowaway. At the entrance to the temple, we catch up to the carriage and there is no sign of the boy. I guess this practice of catching a ride not only gets you to your destination quicker but probably adds a little excitement to the day.

    The area where the carriages let us off is a hundred yards from the temple entrance. There are a few men waiting here that immediately begin trying to sell us souvenirs as soon as we set foot on the ground. Hussein is telling us that we will come back to this spot to find our carriage when we are finished exploring the temple. During Husseins’ instructions, I hear a sharp, “Hey” behind me. I turn around to see one of the vendors glaring at Paul as he reaches down to retrieve a bracelet off the ground. When the fellow stalks away, I ask Paul what happened. Paul says the guy laid a bracelet on his arm and when Paul moved his arm the jewelry fell to the ground which elicited the angry exclamation from the seller. Well, that is a new tactic. We find out from another woman that they did the same thing to her and when she moved her arm away the item also fell to the ground. As we follow Hussein to the temple entrance, we hear a member of our group who is walking behind us, shout a loud and angry “no.”  Another member of our group immediately walks back to see what is happening and to help ease the situation. We find out later that an aggressive vendor tried to attach a bracelet around the wrist of the man’s wife and that is why he yelled at the guy. Jeez.

    Okay, I will admit that I don’t remember much about this temple. I do recall that the temple was buried in the sand for centuries maybe millennia and some French archeologist discovered it in the late 1800’s. In our OAT book it says that this is the second largest temple, but it does not specify whether this is in Egypt or the world. I do remember that the temple is dedicated to Horus, the falcon- headed God. Hussein talks about the temple and then allows us to look around the structure on our own. We are to meet back at the carriage drop off at a certain time. After we have explored the temple, Paul and I exit the temple grounds and wait in front of the ticket office. There is another couple from our group waiting there too. Hussein walks up and tells us we can go out to the parking lot and find our carriage. I think we all mentally sigh because we must walk through the souvenir trap to get there.  Just as we are preparing to face the inevitable circus, we see two workers walk through a small gate. We look at each other, shrug our shoulders and exit through the gate allowing us to miss the keepsake sellers all together!

    When we reach the ship, Paul goes against Hussein’s’ instructions and gives our driver an extra fifty Egyptian pounds. He tells me it is because the young man treated his horse well and did not bother us while we were in his carriage. I totally agree with his decision.

     This afternoon our ship comes to a halt and the crew hoists the sails which is quite an ordeal. We are invited to go aboard the tugboat and see the Aida with her sails up and functioning. Paul, Jennifer, and I believe, four more folks take the crew up on this offer. The rest of us are content to see the billowing sails from the deck. Paul and Jennifer say they enjoyed seeing the Aida in full sail, from the little tug, and they did get some nice photos. Once the tugboat riders are back on the ship, the crew continues to use the sails and wind to navigate up the Nile. To be honest, we can hardly tell that the ship is moving. You must fixate on a point along the shore to confirm that, yes, the boat is inching along. No wonder we must have the tug pull us. At this rate it would take days to reach our final destination of Abu Simbel. Regardless of our rate of speed, it is fun to go up the Nile in slow motion for a couple of hours.

    Tonight, we are having dinner on shore. The Aida is maneuvered over to the riverbank and moored next to a riverside café. These outside cafes are like roadside diners for river traffic, and I assume for village people too.  We passed by many of these colorful riverside cafes all day. You could also see an ample number of hookahs at many of them including this one.

    The crew sets up the buffet on the shore a few yards from our boat. There is a long dining table and strings of light are hung above the area where we will eat our dinner. I do not recall the food that was served in the buffet. I hardly eat anything because I cannot get my digestive system straightened out. Since my stomach becomes upset out of the blue, I have concluded that there is some Egyptian food that is not agreeing with me. Consequently, I have not been eating much but meat, bread, and fruit and not a lot of those items. Rats.

   After we have finished our meal, the captain introduces the crew that has been taking such good care of us on the Aida. Once we acknowledge them with applause the captain tells us that they are going to play music and sing for us.  Once they begin singing and playing their simple instruments, Hussein calls out to Jennifer and escorts her to the “dance floor.” The pair begin to cut a rug or in the case to kick up a “sand” storm. I know that Hussein discovered that Jennifer loves to dance prior to this evening, so they have danced together before this occasion, but I cannot remember where that occurred.

    A couple members of the crew come over to the rest of us and encourage us to join the dancing duo. I decline as I have absolutely no rhythm so would probably be running into everyone or be stepping on my own toes. Paul joins in the fun as do most of the rest of the group. I think there are five or six of us that prefer to watch the rest of group dancing and laughing along the Nile.

   The tugboat operator, a large man with a great smile, belts out the words to the songs they sing, drowning out the other singers. He seldom is on key but makes up for this flaw with his exuberance. Ouch. One woman returns to the table and tells me that she loves music and cannot handle this anymore. I acknowledge this fact by nodding my head but figure the crew is having fun as are the dancers so what the heck.    

   The owner of the café has a son that is probably eight or so, and he is singing and clapping along with the crew. Jennifer gets the boy to dance with her which makes the little fellow beam. The wide grin that splits his face when the song is over tells you all you need to know about his delight in dancing with a tourist. Way to go Jennifer, you do have a way with kids!

  Tomorrow, Visiting a farm and an ancient quarry. Nancy

    Paul and I are up early, as we need to finish packing. Paul happens to glance out of our window and tells me to come look at the hot air balloons. What a nice way to start the morning gazing at the colorful balloons that dot the morning sky. It is too bad we did not look out the window yesterday when Jennifer was floating above Luxor, we could have claimed that she waved to us.

    We deposit our luggage outside our door as we go down to breakfast. Jennifer happens to be walking out of her room as we are walking down the hall. We find a table for three and eat our last breakfast in this nice hotel. We have certainly enjoyed Luxor and the sites and activities we have experienced here but I believe all of us are ready to move on. I know that sailing the Nile on our private river yacht is what I have been looking forward to the most on this Egypt adventure.

    We leave the hotel at 8:30, make sure our luggage is among the suitcases lining the sidewalk, then board our bus. After a short drive we arrive at Karnak where we follow Hussein to the visitors center to purchase tickets. As we enter the grounds, Karnak sprawls out in front of us dwarfing any other sites we have visited so far. The vast area of Karnak is eye opening but also surprising is there are very few tourists here. I know the Great Pyramids are the top destination for tourists in Egypt, but I thought Karnak was extremely popular too.

  I read that Karnak covers over 200 acres and various Kings and Queens built the temples, and other buildings over a period of fifteen hundred years. I am sure Hussein gave us this information when he was giving his educative talk about Karnak, but I did not retain it. The main Gods that were worshiped here are Amun, Mut and Montu, with Amun being the most worshiped of the three Gods.   

    We stroll down the road leading to the entrance of Amun’s temple. The road has a line of criosphinxes on either side. The criosphinxes, (I saw this name in an article), have the head of a ram which is the God Amun’s emblem. Walking between the line of ram sphinxes, who seem to be staring sternly at you, is a bit humbling.  Once we walk through the temple entrance, Hussein gathers us in a half circle and begins talking about various aspects of Amun’s temple. One of the highlights is the Great Hypostyle Hall which has over a hundred towering columns. Most of the paint has faded from the figures and scenes that cover these beautiful pillars so you can only imagine how stunning they were in ancient times.

   Hussein leads us to another area of Karnak where an obelisk stands among the ruins.  I believe Hussein said it weighed one hundred ton and stood over eighty feet tall. The massive obelisk is carved from a single piece of red granite from the quarries of Aswan. Hussein explains how the obelisks were drug down to the Nile and loaded on a barge that was sitting in a dry dock. I think he said they flooded the dry dock once the obelisk was secured to the barge. The barge was then fastened to and pulled down the Nile by boats, each boat piloted with a crew of oarsmen. Hussein does admit that no one has been able to ascertain how they placed the enormous obelisk on a base and raised it to the upright position. Hmm.

    After viewing other areas of Karnak with Hussein, including the sacred lake, he gives us time to look around the place on our own. He suggests walking through the Hypostyle Hall and exiting on the far side where there are some seated statues. Jennifer and I decide to go take a look at them but Paul has had enough and heads for the exit. Jennifer and I find the stone statues and after taking a few photos return to the main area of Amun’s’ Temple. When we arrive, we gasp in amazement. There are a horde of tourists, literally wall to wall, and filling the street that leads to the temple. Jennifer and I must weave our way through the crowd of people until we reach the end of the sphinx-lined road.

    We are pleased to see Paul waiting for us because we were not excited about getting through the persistent dealers of keepsakes.  Jennifer and I get on either side of Paul and loop an arm through his. I believe it is at this venue that we hear one of the shop owners say, “I am from Alaska.” Guess what, as disciplined as we have become at not looking at the people trying to sell us their wares, you could not help but look over at the speaker making this claim. He has our attention for a moment but to no avail as we steadily march on and finally escape into the parking lot.

     We all thank Hussein for bringing us to Karnak early which allowed us to enjoy the temples and sites without fighting the crowd. I do not know how you could see much of anything with all those people crowded in the various rooms.

   Our group returns to the bus and soon we are on our way to the town of Esna. There are plenty of interesting things to look at through the bus window, unfortunately most of the photos I took were blurry.

   We reach the town of Esna where our dahabeya is anchored and we catch our first glimpse of her as we drive by the anchored ship. What a beautiful boat. However, we are visiting the Temple of Khnum first so the ship will have to wait. We leave the bus and follow Hussein a few blocks to the site. Nooo, another souvenir area filled with basically the same statues, clothes, and other items we have seen everywhere else. Of course, we must pass through the clamoring merchants in order to reach the temple. We just escaped the other tourist trap less than an hour ago!

    Hussein leads us over to a booth that has articles of clothing hanging along its sides. Our guide did not bring us here to give us any advice on what is worth buying but wants us to observe the fellow working. The man is ironing clothes for clients, why he is stationed here I have no idea. We watch as he is pressing a garment and then we are taken aback when he sprays water he is holding in his mouth over the item of clothing. Who needs a steam iron? I am just glad I was on the far side of where he was spraying the water out of his mouth! Okay, that was worth having to listen to the “only one dollar” chant again.

   The temple is situated far below street level, so we traipse down a long staircase to reach the building.  I cannot remember the particulars of this temple, but I believe it was buried in the sand, like many of the ruins, when it was discovered by archeologists. I do know that workers, although they are not working today, are painstakingly removing the soot and dirt that has covered the columns for 2,000 years. The soot coating has helped preserve the brilliant paint that was applied to the images, and it is stunning.

   Our group climbs the stairs where we navigate through the merchandiser and reach the peace of the street. We board the bus and drive a short distance to our river yacht which will be our home for the next five nights. The ship is called the Aida. As we walk onto the boat a man takes our temperature. I find this interesting as we have not run into any covid protocol on the trip so far, except for our OAT man checking our vaccine card at the airport. Paul and I register a temperature around 97 and evidently everyone else pass too, as we are all allowed to continue onto the boat. I wonder what they would have done if someone was running a temperature, make them walk the gangplank?

    Hussein passes out our cabin keys and tells us to return to topside in fifteen minutes for the orientation talk. Paul and I are in the cabin called Horus III. After being told in pre-trip info that the ship cabins are very small, we are pleasantly surprised to find that our cabin has plenty of space for us. We probably will not be in the cabin except at night anyway.

    When all of us are gathered in what I will call the dining and lounge room, the captain of the ship explains various things such as meals, the staff, and the Wi-Fi passwords, (yep, we can get the internet floating down the Nile), although he does warn us that on occasion, we will hit a dead spot. Oh no, let me off the boat, (total sarcasm). The captain also tells us that the advantage we have over the large tourist ships is we can tie up along the shore and stay away from the crowded docks where large ships must anchor. We also will be pulled by a tugboat, which we already knew, as there is not enough wind at this time of year to use the sails.

   After the captain is finished, Paul and I explore the ship and then settle down on the observation deck. We watch fishermen lay nets out in the water and then one man will slap the water with a long rod. We ask Hussein, what the men are doing, and he says this scares the fish into the nets. There are two men per small rowboat.     

    The Nile is flush with birds, some of them we know, like cattle egrets and kingfisher. There are other birds that we are unfamiliar with so Paul goes to the captain and asks if he has a bird book we can borrow. He jokes with Paul and tells him he will sell him the bird book, and Paul replies that he will buy it from him. The captain laughs and hands the book over. I am loving this. Paul leaves to walk around, while I sit and enjoy the scenery, fishermen, life along the shore, and birds! The downside is that there is a lot of garbage along and in the Nile, mostly plastic. The grossest thing I saw was the bloated carcass of a donkey which bobbed in the wake from the ship traffic.

   Lunch is served at one o’clock and the buffet consists of salads, soup, chicken kabobs and fish. The food was pretty good. There are three tables, and everyone sits where they please.

    Around four o’clock we dock along the river’s edge which turns out to be quite entertaining. There are several young boys and a woman standing on the shore waiting our arrival. A member of the crew attempts to throw the mooring rope to one of the boys. It takes about six tosses before the crewman gets the rope close enough to the shore for our helper to grab it. The youngster runs along the rock- fortified riverbank, he is barefoot by the way, and loops the rope over a scraggly bush. This stops us from drifting, then another rope is tied up at the other end of the boat. The crew puts out a narrow gangplank and a stout crewman walks across it carrying a large hammer. He proceeds to drive stakes down and then fastens the mooring ropes to the iron rod. Oh yeah, this man is barefoot too. I am putting a slide show below this paragraph. I hope it works.

   Our whole purpose in stopping here is to visit the nearby village. I am pleased to see that a wider ramp is put across to the shore for us to walk on. The young woman is to be our guide through the village. She leads us down a dirt path and when we reach a sugarcane field, Hussein stops to talk about this staple crop for the Egyptian farmers. It is used for producing sugar of course but also is fodder for the livestock. The downside of the cane is that it needs a lot of water to reach maturity.

    The woman then shows us the water filtration system that the Egyptian government has installed for villages along the Nile. The people used to drink straight out of the Nile and Hussein told us that the result was a lot of kidney problems in the older folks. We were not allowed to take any photos of the complicated set up.

    The woman takes us to the house where her family and her parents live. We sit outside in the fenced in yard, on chairs and benches. A couple of women in our group go to help make tea and the rest of us are invited to look at the kitchen while they are making the tea and pouring it into cups. Paul and I do not drink much of our tea and when the woman gathers the cups back up, she takes our left-over tea to her father, and he happily drinks it. Oh no, well I guess nothing goes to waste here. After finishing our tea, Hussein explains then demonstrates the use of a hookah. I am using another slide show. The young woman that was our guide is standing and her father, mother, and brother are seated. The photo of the one room I understood to be the kitchen of the young woman’s parents.

    Our group thanks and says goodbye to the family who graciously allowed us a glimpse into their lives. The sun is setting when we return to our river yacht which is a wonderful way to end this very busy day. We will spend the night here, with no city lights or noise. Perfect.

Another temple, putting the sails up and sailing on the Nile, visiting a farming village. Nancy

VALLEY OF THE KINGS, HOME-HOSTED DINNER, part 5

     Paul and I ate breakfast this morning with another couple from our group who were kind enough to invite us to sit with them as all the tables were occupied. The buffet has a large variety of food, but it is not as expansive as Marriotts. Jennifer walks into the breakfast room about the time we have finished eating. Jennifer and some other members of our group left early this morning to go on the optional hot air balloon ride. They had to take a boat across the Nile, continue by car for quite a distance and then hope that the wind was cooperating when they arrived at the balloon launch. Fortunately, the wind was fine and Jennifer and the others that went raved about the experience of their hot air balloon ride. Paul and I opted not to go because we had taken a hot air balloon ride while on one of our earliest, maybe our first trip to Africa, and we were happy with that memory.

    We are off to explore the Valley of the Kings this morning. We board a motorboat that takes us across the Nile to where a bus awaits us. Our first stop is at the Mortuary Temple for Queen Hatshepsut. All visitors must walk through the vendor tent in order to get to the ticket office. Oh my gosh, the people are very persistent and aggressive. Hussein stops at one stall and shows us the things he would recommend buying here if one is interested and then tells us what we should pay for these items. Hussein reminds us that you must bargain, it is expected. We finally reach the ticket office, after listening to the phrase “only one dollar” being shouted at us as we walk the length of the souvenir filled tent. Hussein hands us our tickets and points out the location of the restroom, which several of us take advantage of before we proceed. Have I mentioned that you must pay five Egyptian pounds to use a public restroom? This is equivalent to around 15 cents. When our group is all accounted for, we climb into carts and the driver takes us the short distance to Queen Hatshepsut’s Mortuary Temple.

   We follow Hussein to the steps of the temple where he gives us the history of Queen Hatshepsut, which is complicated. The Queen was married to Thutmose II, who was her half-brother. Between Hussein’s lessons, books I read, and watching shows on the History Channel, ancient Egyptians marrying half siblings or cousins was common. The Pharoah’s believed that marrying within the family would ensure that their family would maintain control in Egypt for generations.  When Thutmose II died, the throne passed to an infant son from a “lesser” wife because he and Hatshepsut had produced only a daughter, not a son.

    Queen Hatshepsut, who was Thutmose II’s principal wife, became Regent upon his death and acted, (ruled), for the baby Thutmose III. When he was still a child Hatshepsut was installed as the first female King of Egypt although how she achieved this is not clear.  King Hatshepsut was considered a successful ruler because during her twenty-year reign, Egypt was at peace.  Hatshepsut also opened trade with many of the countries that her predecessors had been at war with.

    When Hatshepsut’s nephew took his rightful place on the throne after the female King’s death, he ordered all evidence of her to be erased. Hatshepsut’s’ monuments were defaced, her statues were torn down, and her name was removed from the official Kings list. Some Egyptologists theorize this was revenge taken by Thutmose III for being denied the throne when he came of age, another theory is that he did this to make sure the Thutmose line would not be interrupted by a female again. It sounds more like revenge in my opinion.

    Hussein also told us what paintings or monuments we should look for once we were inside the temple. He particularly wanted us to find the stone pillar on the outside of the temple that depicted the face of Hathor, the goddess of love and motherhood. This goddess is depicted with a human face that has the ears of a cow. When she transformed into her animal form it was that of a cow. Hussein also told us this impressive mortuary temple was only used for seventy days which was how long the mummification process took.

   Hussein is not allowed to lead us through the temple. I understood him to say that this was because they were trying to limit the number of people inside the temple. That does not really make sense so maybe I misunderstood. Jennifer’s theory was that a guide would stop to explain things to his group which would block the flow of people. Now that does make sense.

   We gather outside by the steps of the temple, where Hussein is waiting and take the carts back to the parking area. Unfortunately, we must run the gauntlet of vendors to get back to our bus. You have to admit that this is a good marketing tool for these shop keepers but boy is it annoying.

   We load up on the bus and in a short time we have arrived at the Valley of the Kings. There are carts to drive us to the tombs here also. One of the carts carrying members of our group comes to a halt and the woman from Pennsylvania hops out. It seems that her ticket blew out of her hand. A cart driver behind them saw the ticket and picked it up. The driver that picked up the wayward ticket insists on a tip and the woman hands him some Egyptian pounds. Really, shouldn’t that just be a kind thing to do for someone?

   When we reach the tombs, we form a half-circle around Hussein, who talks about the history of Valley of the Kings. Hussein also gives us useful information at the entrance of each individual tomb we are visiting and describes specific scenes or figures to look for among the paintings on the tomb walls.  The tomb of Ramses IV is included with the ticket that allows you entrance to the Valley of the Kings. King Tutankhamen’s tomb is included with our OAT package. Hussein has personally purchased the ticket for Ramses VI tomb for us as he insists, we must experience, what in his opinion, is the most spectacular tomb in the Valley. How kind and generous is that?

   The number of people allowed into the tombs is limited, and rightly so as the area in the tunnel and tomb is not that spacious. We descend a staircase that takes us to Ramses IVs’ tomb. As we walk through the hallway we gaze at the painted scenes and hieroglyphs that cover the walls on both sides. We occasionally stop and admire a particular scene or figure. It is hard to fathom the work and time it took to carve this tomb out of the rock and to paint or carve all the scenes and figures that plaster every inch of the rock walls. What we are looking at is awesome. It is hard to imagine that Ramses VI’s tomb could surpass what we are experiencing in this tomb!

    Jennifer and I leave the tomb and we have climbed halfway up the stairs when the lights go out. What the heck? The sunlight filters down weakly from the entrance/exit but we take our time and carefully climb to the top of the stairs. There were several people still in the tomb when we left, and I can only imagine how dark it is down there. Paul had left before Jennifer and me so he missed out on this fun experience. We had not been told or perhaps did not hear that tourists are allowed only so much time to be in the tomb which makes sense. The warning that your time is up is the extinguishing of the lights which seems a bit dangerous. I have a feeling a lot of cellphones were lighting the way for the people behind us.

   Hussein leads us on to the tomb of Tutankhamen, where he tells us the tomb robbers never found it because rubble had covered any signs of the tomb due to an earthquake (I think). Hussain also explains how Howard Carter finally figured out where Tut’s tomb was which is fascinating but too long of a story to write here. King Tuts’ tomb is small in comparison to the first tomb we were in, but the scenes painted on the walls of his tomb are amazingly vivid. King Tutankhamen’s mummy is on display, but I could have done without seeing Tuts’ mummy as it is not a pleasant sight.

      Ramses VI tomb is our last stop, and we enjoy more history given to us by our excellent guide. As we begin walking down the long tunnel to Ramses VI tomb the depictions on the walls and ceiling are overwhelming. The deeper we get the more vivid the colors are. It is on this walk that I see a member of our group point out a very odd figure and says something about aliens which causes his wife to snort with derision. I speak up and admit that I do not discount the alien or otherworldly theory many people have, which makes her throw up her hands in exasperation. My open-minded friend and I continue talking about the possibility of alien influence or help building these structures throughout our trip, much to the hilarity of the rest of our group including Hussein. Yeah, we both watch Ancient Aliens on the History Channel, but my doubts started long before I began to watch that show. After Paul and my visit to Peru and Machu Pichu, I wondered about the ability of these ancient people being able to build such structures with only stone hammers and copper tools. Just saying.

   We stop for lunch on the way back to the hotel. I had ordered potatoes au gratin and was disappointed to find that they had been baked to the point of being dried out. Oh well, that was the only disappointment today.

    When we return to the Winter Palace hotel, Paul and I take a much-needed nap. When we wake up, we decide to go down and check out the hotel courtyard. The manicured garden is absolutely beautiful. We find Jennifer lounging by the large swimming pool, so we sit down for a bit and just relax. I was delighted to see a Hoopoe while we were exploring the grounds. He was so busy probing the ground for worms he paid no attention to us. The low light of our courtyard tour was seeing several flamingos that are enclosed in a small wire pen.

   Tonight, we are going to our Home-hosted dinner. Hussein divides us into two groups. One group will be hosted by a farmer and his family who live in Luxor and the other group will be hosted by a retired chef and his family. The two women from Minnesota, and the solo traveler from Maryland are in our group. Hussein assigns our group to the retired chef which I admit, the three of us were a little disappointed as we had hoped to go to the farmer’s house.

   The bus stops and lets us off at a side street where we follow Hussein down the dark, narrow street to our host’s house.  A man is waiting for us, and he raises his hand while calling out a greeting to Hussein and our group. We follow our host into his house where Hussein introduces everyone. Hussein then leaves after telling our group that he will return later this evening to accompany us back to the coach.

    It is a bit awkward at first. We all hand our small gifts to the host; we Kansans have given them a magnet featuring photos of things Kansas is known for like sunflowers and wheat. We also wrote a message of thanks inside the card which has a beautiful photo of the Flint Hills on the front. Jennifer, Paul, and I forgot to bring any gifts for the two little girls which are our hosts granddaughters. The women from Minnesota have brought a large sack of balloons and tell the girls that it is from all of us. How generous of them.

   The retired chef tells us his son, the father of the young girls and the husband of the young woman that is helping prepare dinner, will join us later. Our host takes us on a tour of the house which consists of a large dining/sitting room, a good-sized kitchen, large bathroom and two bedrooms. When we have finished the house tour we sit down at the table and the two women begin bringing food to the table. The main dish is a favorite dish of Egyptians, and I would liken it to a stew. As we all prepare to begin eating the Hostess says “bon a petit” with a big smile on her face. We soon figure out that although all the other members speak fair English, our hostess does not speak English at all.  She says “bon a petit” several times throughout our meal which is endearing.

   The couple’s son walks in as we are being served dessert. He greets us and apologizes for not being here earlier, but he has been working. This man speaks excellent English and soon all of us are asking him questions on various topics. He talks about how the high inflation is hurting the Egyptian people. We learn that family is very important in Egypt, and he answers any questions we have on other topics.

   At some point Jennifer pulls out her phone and calls the little girls over to see photos of her eight grandchildren. Boy does this break the ice. The hostess and daughter-in-law crowd around Jennifer so they can look at her photos too, and they ooh and ahh over her grandkids’ pictures. This prompts the older couple and younger couple to retrieve their wedding albums and we all look at the photos and comment about how beautiful everything was.  Our host laughs and says his wife was crazy about Omar Shariff and claims she only married him because of his resemblance to Omar. We all laugh at this story and when looking at his wedding photo from decades ago we see that there is some resemblance to Omar. They tell us that an Egyptian wedding takes place over three days and the guests can be in the hundreds. Weddings also cost a lot of money and with the high inflation they are experiencing today, some people are reducing the wedding celebration from three to two days.

   The girls want grandpa to blow up a couple of balloons for them which he gladly does, I think these girls have grandpa wrapped around their finger. The two girls begin to bat the balloons back and forth and then Jennifer gets up to join in the fun. Boy do the girls, especially the youngest, get a kick out of this. After the balloon games come to an end our host announces that the girls would like to sing for us. We listen to the “ABC” song and “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” The oldest girl, probably ten years old, has an incredible voice. I lean over to her mother and tell her what a wonderful voice her oldest daughter has which makes her beam with pride.

     Shortly after the girl’s finish singing, a smiling Hussein walks into the house and greets everyone. We all shake hands and thank our hosts profusely for welcoming us into their home and for their wonderful hospitality. We follow Hussein back to the dark street and walk back to the bus. We tell Hussein what a great time we had and of course he is delighted to hear this. This was a really great day.

   Leaving Luxor to board our private dahabeya, (sailboat), for a six-day cruise on the Nile. This is the part of our journey that I have been really looking forward to. Nancy

  

 

  The day has arrived to leave on our long, awaited trip to Egypt. It is hard to believe we booked this trip in 2019 for a 2020 departure, which of course was canceled. We rescheduled for later in the year. Nope, that didn’t work out and a third time in 2022 which was nixed too. Finally, on January 19^th of 2023 we are headed for the KC airport.

   Paul needs to drop the ranch pickup off at the local mechanics on our way to Jennifer’s which will help Randall out so I follow him in the car and pick him up at Mike’s Repair. We arrive at our good friend Jennifer’s on the agreed upon time. We load our suitcases and backpacks in Jennifer’s car and head for Kansas City.

   We decide to eat lunch before dropping the car off at Park Air Express since there will be no food on our flight to Chicago. There is a barbeque restaurant close to Park Air, so we take advantage of the location. The food is fine and after we pay and are headed back to the car, Jennifer reaches into the inside pocket of her new jacket to get her wallet. It isn’t there! Not only isn’t it there Jennifer discovers that this “pocket” is open on the top and bottom. She rushes back to the restaurant only to meet the waitress who is hustling out the door with the lost wallet. That could have been a disaster! Why the heck is there a “pocket” that is open on both ends?

   We drop the car off at Park Air and climb into the shuttle which delivers us to the airport. Paul and I go to the check in counter and ask the woman there to add Paul’s global entry number into the system.  My number is in the system, and we have no idea why his isn’t but the woman adds it and we are good. We check our one bag and gather up all our boarding passes and wait. Jennifer has checked her bags and also received her boarding passes.

   When the time comes to board the plane, we are in the last group. The people checking tickets have been announcing over the microphone that they need passengers to check their carry-on bags as they are running out of overhead bin space. When it is finally our turn to board the plane, the woman scanning our boarding passe tells us we have no choice but to check our bags all the way to Cairo. Jennifer and I argue and tell her that is not going to happen as there is stuff in our carry-on bags that we need with us. The woman says she has to put the check through tag on anyway and then we can see if the flight attendants can find room for our bags.

    I am in the lead and walk onto the plane with my bag and tell the flight attendants that I need this bag with me. They say no problem, the bag is small enough and there is room for it. Jennifer and Paul are given the green light too. I swear, I get anxious enough in airports without this conflict to start our day off.

   We made it to Chicago on time which is a good thing as it is a madhouse here. We have a long way to walk to the international wing of the airport and we had to go through security again. For some reason of the three of us I am the only one that has Pre-check for this leg of our trip. A lot of good it did to get the woman at KC to put Paul’s global entry number in the system and why Jennifer’s isn’t pre-check makes no sense at all. Jennifer and Paul have to join the mass of humans inching along in the regular line. Oddly enough the pre-check line hardly moves at all and people including me are grumbling about the snail’s pace of our supposedly faster security line.  I soon lose sight of Jennifer and Paul which doesn’t help my nervousness.

  There is only one person in front of me now and I’ll be darned if a huge flight crew shows up at this time, at least 15 people. The crew walks around we two women to go through the security ahead of us. Are you kidding me! I finally am allowed to proceed to the conveyer belt, and I walk with confidence through the metal detector. The damn thing starts making a loud squealing noise that I have never heard before. I have nothing on me to set it off and the guy manning the detector tells me it is a random check. For crying out loud! Another woman is already waiting, and she is upset because she has a flight connection to make as I do, and we both don’t have that much time.

   Ten or fifteen minutes later I am finally motioned to go to the man that is conducting the search on we randomly chosen victims. He asks me for my cellphone and when I tell him I don’t have a cell phone, his eyebrows arch up. He speaks in a firm, loud voice and says, “Ma’am, I need to have your cell phone. I reply “Sir, I honestly do not have a cell phone. He sizes me up and decides I am telling him the truth. He then asks for my electronics. Oh brother, Paul has my tablet in the bags he is carrying, and I have to tell this guy that I have no electronics either. After a brief pause to scrutinize my face, I guess he decides that I am telling him the truth on this too.

    He waves me over to a machine and asks for my right hand which I do have with me. He begins to wipe it down and then crisscrosses it with something. I ask him what he is doing, and he tells me that he is checking for certain chemicals and powder. After that I have to place my palm on the machine and thankfully it turns green, and I am free to go.

    When I walk out of the security area there is no sign of my traveling companions. I see people walking with their luggage on the far side of where I am standing, and I wonder if Paul and Jennifer go out a different way. A young man is waiting in the same area, and I ask him if the pre-check line exits in a different place than the regular security. He assures me everyone comes out to the same area. He can see that I am very nervous and talks to me, assuring me that the plane will not leave without us since we have checked in. He then asks where we are going and gives me directions to our gate, admitting to me that we still have quite a distance to cover to reach our departure gate.

   I finally see Paul and Jennifer putting their luggage on the belt and walking through the metal detector. Paul never took his liquids and electronics out of his bags, and nothing was said to him. I should have just gone with Paul and Jennifer.

   We made it to our gate with ten minutes to spare but we have to get new tickets issued for some reason. We are nearly ready to hand our tickets over to board the plane when I realize my boarding pass is not in my passport. I lose it, wailing to Paul that I have lost my boarding pass. Jennifer assures me that they will issue a new pass, so I rush over to the desk and tell them in a shaky voice that I have lost my boarding pass. The woman calmly tells me that it is no problem and I soon have my new pass in hand. I am still shaking when I take my seat on the plane.

    Paul and I try to settle into what are extremely uncomfortable seats. If I find my seat unbearable you can imagine how miserable Paul is. I watch the new Top Gun movie which was really good and then try to sleep. Neither one of us can fall asleep so we split a sleeping pill and manage to get some shuteye, though it is not enough. Somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, Paul and I agree that we are done with international travel and seal the deal with a high five slap.

   Nine and a half hours later we land in Zurich. We have no problems on this connection and board the plane without any glitches. Paul and I are sitting in an emergency exit so there are lots of leg room, but we are not allowed to have any of our carry-on luggage, so it gets scattered around to various overhead bins. After the cramped misery of the last flight, we are okay with that. Four hours later we land in Cairo. As Paul is pulling our coats out of the bin above our head a flight attendant sharply tells us we were not to put anything in that overhead as it is for emergency equipment. I inform her that we did not place them there, a flight attendant put them there when she saw them laying in our laps before we took off. The ticked off attendant wants to know who it was, and I tell her I thought she was the one that did it. The young woman insists it wasn’t her and Jennifer speaks up saying it was not this attendant but also backs up our story that it indeed it was another attendant that placed our coats in the forbidden bin.

    There is a helpful man sitting behind us that hands Paul and I our bags that got put in bins behind us. We shuffle out of the plane and as Paul is ready to step out of the plane into the walkway, he realizes he has left his Stetson on the plane. The attendant tells him to step aside and wait until everyone is off before he can go back to retrieve his hat. Well, isn’t this just a fitting way to end our marathon trip of twenty-four hours.

   Our OAT rep is waiting for us and is that a welcome sight. Ayman introduces himself and then asks for our visas. Umm, we were told to buy them here, so we join the rather long line of visitors waiting to get a 25-dollar visa. Ayman excuses himself and, in a bit, returns and beckons us to follow him. He takes us to the Egyptian Bank where there is one person ahead of us and then asks us for our passports and 25 bucks. Great. He takes us through passport control and then we go to the luggage carousal. While we wait for the luggage to show up, he asks us for our covid vaccine card so he can take a photo of them.  I can’t remember where my original card is, but Paul is carrying a copy and Ayman is fine with this. A few minutes later I remember where I stashed it and pull it out to see if he wants a photo of the original card, he shakes his head and says all is well.

   Our luggage shows up, Hurray, and we walk out to a waiting van. The traffic of Cairo is crazy. Where there should be two lanes of traffic sometimes there is 3 or 4 cars across. Ayman tells us lanes are only a suggestion here. To make things worse everyone is constantly honking. And there are pedestrians darting in and out of traffic as they try to cross this insane traffic. No rights for pedestrians here, you are on your own!

   We arrive at the Marriot hotel forty minutes after leaving the airport. We thank Ayman for making our arrival in Cairo so easy and he hands us off to the man that will be our guide for our adventure in Cairo. Hussein calls each of us by name and then gives us our room keys and a quick tour of the outside eating area and the building where we will be eating breakfast. Hussein leads us back into the hotel and bids us goodnight. We will not see him again until tomorrow afternoon when we will meet the rest of our group. We have come a day early.

    Once we get our things into our nice rooms, we meet in the lobby and go to eat supper. We decide to eat in the outside restaurant that serves Egyptian food. Paul and I order a chicken/eggplant/ rice dish which is very tasty. Jennifer had a fish dish if I remember right and thought it was very good too.

   We go back to our rooms, shower off the remnants of that long trip over here and go to bed. Nancy